by Madison Faye
Chapter 11
Colton
She’s okay. We’re okay.
I know Tara’s scared out of her mind, and every part of me hates to let go of her. But, I also know I have to see what just came at us. I have to know who just emptied a whole fucking clip into the side of my barn.
Not my house — the hardly ever used barn, which means someone was watching and knew I was in here.
…Or knew she was in here.
“Stay down,” I hiss, kissing her head before I’m up and running for the ladder. I skim down it, my pulse roaring as I hear the sound of a truck door slamming shut and the sound of tires kicking up gravel. My lips curl into a snarl as I blast across the barn floor, buck-fucking-naked as I yank the old Remington off the hook by the door and go crashing out into the moonlit yard. I use this thing for picking off coyotes, but right there, I level that fucker at the back of the truck as it starts to peel off back down my drive.
I breathe, steady myself, and squeeze the trigger. The back window of the truck drops, shattering with my first shot. The tail light gets it next, then the side mirror. But after that, I can see the fucker hit the main road, peel out and roar away.
I swear as I lower the rifle, my blood pumping and my muscles clenched. Fuck. I know that truck. Hell, it’s the second time today it’s been in my damn driveway.
…It’s Jessie Banner’s truck.
I’m still seeing red, still fuming as a soft hand slides around my waist. I startle, blinking as I turn to find Tara sliding up behind me wrapped in the blanket. She slides her arms around me, and I sling the gun over my shoulder as I scoop her against me.
“You were supposed to stay down,” I grumble.
“And you’re not supposed to run after someone who shoots at you,” she throws back, glaring at me.
I grin at that sharp look on her face before I shake my head.
“Had to see who it was.”
“And?”
The growl rumbles in my chest. “And I think we need to take another look at what you might have that Jessie Banner wants.”
Her jaw drops. “That was that guy?”
“I told you, these people aren’t the type to fuck around.”
“I—!” She blinks, a worried looking crossing her face before I scoop her close, my arms circling around her protectively.
“What could they want with me?”
“I don’t know,” I growl. “But when — not if, but when — they come looking for it again, I’m going to be ready for them.” I turn and narrow my eyes at the dust still rolling off my driveway from the pickup peeling out.
I’ve stayed the fuck out of all the drama and the family feud bullshit since I came back here. Law Banner knows that, and he’s always respected that. I never shit on his turf, and he never came and shit on my ranch.
…Apparently, Jessie never got that memo. Or maybe Tara here changes the unspoken agreement.
My jaw clenches, the anger at what almost could have happened steaming up inside of me. She could have been hurt, or worse. I just fucking found her, after pretty much accepting that I’d never find that one woman that made me feel whole. And having just come so close to losing that?
My lips curl into a snarl.
Fuck that. I’ve kept the peace. I’ve left family blood drama behind me and tried to live clean and clear of it all. But now? A line's been crossed. Now, they’ve come after what’s mine and put what’s mine in harm’s ways.
…Now, they’ve started a fire they’re going to regret ever lighting.
“You’re okay?” I whisper, burying my face in her long, chestnut hair. She nods, her soft hands sliding around my hips and her lips kissing my chest.
“Yeah. And you?”
“I’m fine.”
Tara pulls back and grins, arching a brow as she drags her eyes over me. “I’ll say. I mean hello my own private naked cowboy.”
I chuckle, leaning in to kiss her again.
“I mean you’ve got the gun out and everything.” She giggles, blushing. “Pun unintended,” she snorts, her eyes dropping to my cock before she looks back up and leans in to kiss me.
“We just got shot at, and here you are ogling me all over again,” I grin.
Tara blushes. “Well…stop being so ogle-able!”
I chuckle as I scoop her up, swallowing her gasp as her lips crush to mine.
“So what comes now?” she whispers.
“Now, we get ready, because something tells me we haven’t seen the last of this. Whatever this is.”
Her smile fades, her face paling. “So, they’ll be back?”
“Probably,” I growl, my hands tightening on her. “But next time, we’re going to have back up.”
* * *
“Fuck, man. You sure it was Jessie?”
“Pretty damn sure.”
Tucker swears into the phone. “And you think it’s this girl?”
My eyes dart across the room, to where Tara’s curled up on the couch pouring over her papers and her laptop from Synergy Coal. She’s wearing a pair of old sweats and a t-shirt of mine — both of which she’s basically swimming in, and yet somehow she still looks gorgeous in. The most shapeless clothes in the world and this girl looks hot as fucking hell in them.
I nod. “Yeah, think so. You know anything about this bullshit mining company they’ve got going?”
I hear Tucker echo the question to Walker, who’s presumably driving.
“Nah, nothing we know about. It might be that Jessie’s got some of his own shit going on though outside of Lawson’s reach.”
Tucker and Walker are friends I grew up with here in Sugar County who left around the same time I did. But where I went off to do rodeo, those two went off to Iraq and Afghanistan with the Marines. They came back a few years before I did, went in on a big rig together, and now they’re a two man hauling team. Hell, I don’t know of a single person in the world, Tara excluded, that I could spend all fucking day and night in a truck cab together with. But then, those two were always thick as thieves.
…Oh, right, and it’s worth mentioning that they work for Lawson Banner.
Now, I know damn well they’ve got nothing to do with any of the Banner families more sinister shit, which is good. Last I heard, they were hauling stolen cars and construction material — the occasional truck full of stolen flat screens. And hey, money is money, and the Banners pay very well. I know the two of them have always felt a little off taking the jobs considering the history between my family and the Banners, but I always make sure they know it’s nothing personal. Not with me at least.
Like I said, money is money, and so long as they’re not making it running drugs or girls or any of that shit, I don’t honestly care who they work for. Again, that whole family feud shit is nothing I ever want anything to do with.
“Could be,” I muse out loud, scratching my chin.
“Honestly, brother, if it was Lawson coming after you, he’d have just knocked on your front door and shot you in the face.”
I frown, and Tucker chuckles that big, rumbling laugh of his at my silence. “Sorry, but, you know what I mean. Sending someone to take shots at you in the dark while you’re with a girl? Nah, not Law’s style.”
I might not know the guy as well as Tucker and Walker do, but he’s right.
“Look man, I wish we could come help out—”
“Nah, don’t worry about. I know you’re working.”
“Colton—”
“A job’s a job, man, I know.”
Tucker sighs. “Yeah, but you know Walker and me, well, it’s never quite sit right with us. Money is money, but—”
I chuckle, cutting him off. “You know what? Next time you’re back in town, you come buy me a beer if you feel so sore about it, alright?”
I can hear my big friend’s grin through the phone. “You bet, brother.” He clears his throat. “So, this girl.”
My eyes move across the room again, just taking her in. Fuck, she fits so perf
ectly here, curled up on my couch, in my house, wearing my clothes. My mind drifts, and in the fantasy, I’m getting dinner ready while she finishes up some work for a job she loves. In the fantasy, there’s the scampering sound of kid’s feet upstairs and then tumbling down the stairs looking for food.
I shake my head, smiling. Fuck, it’s everything I want.
This ranch. Her. A family.
“She worth this?”
I blink, my attention clicking back to Tucker over the phone.
“She worth the possibility of going to war with the fuckin’ Banners?”
It’s not even a question to me.
“I’d go to war with the whole fucking world for her.”
Tara looks up, and our eyes lock. I’m pretty sure she hasn’t heard what I said, but she sees me looking right at her. Slowly, she grins, her teeth raking across her bottom lip as the blush creeps over her face.
“Good,” Tucker growls. “Look, even if we can’t be there, you need anything—”
“I’ve got Shepherd and Silas coming over.”
Tucker groans. “You know what throwing gasoline on a fire means?”
I scowl. I know he’s right, but it’s the only option I’ve got. I might stay the hell clear of this Banner-Bronson blood feud stuff. But my brother Shepherd and my cousin Silas? Yeah, not so much. Not by a mile.
“Good luck, man,” Tucker rumbles into the phone. “You’re gonna need it.”
Chapter 12
Tara
This feels like home. I know the tension is nuts, and there’s that little fact that we just got shot at. But, it’s something I can’t ignore. I’m curled on the couch wearing a pair of Colton’s sweatpants and a t-shirt, both of which I’m absolutely swimming in, while I hunt through my papers and my laptop, trying to find something that might be what Jessie Banner is after with me.
I look up and see Colton in the kitchen, stirring a pot of what he’s called his famous chili, and I smile.
Yeah, even with some crazy hillbilly mafia psychopath having just shot at us, all of this just feels, well, perfect. In the fantasy version, of course, there is no Jessie Banner filling the side of the barn with bullet holes. I’m not looking at paperwork for the criminal front of a company I’ve been suckered into working for. And Colton doesn’t have a shotgun slung over his shoulder in the kitchen, constantly glancing out through the windows.
No, in the fantasy, it’s different. Colton’s not checking the safety on his gun, he’s just finishing up his chili with maybe some old country tunes playing on the radio. There’s no one coming for us — no one trying to hurt us. In that fantasy, maybe I’m still curled on the couch, but I’m reading a great book. Maybe I’m reading a great book to a small child.
I blush, shaking my head. I’ve never been that girl. I’ve never been the one to get all moony thinking about kids and all of that. I’m actually not sure if I’ve ever seriously considered having any. And yet, just being near Colton Bronson has all sorts of biology kicking in inside of me. It’s like just being with him ignites this primal urge to mate.
…Or maybe it’s just that he’s that perfect mix of rugged and gorgeous that screams “hey, I’ve got great genetics” to anything with a pair of ovaries. And me and mine are no exception, let me just say that.
Looking at Colton, even now with the threat hanging over us, I can’t help but feel the heat tease through me. I can’t help but remember every single way he’s touched me and made me scream in pleasure, and made me come like never before ever since we fell into one another. And even with the danger lingering in the air, God help me, I want him. I want him to march right over, scatter my papers, tear my clothes off and just take me, however he wants.
…Like I said, damn biology.
I force myself to focus on the Synergy Coal paperwork though. There’s something here that Jessie wants, even if I can’t for the life of me figure it out. All I’ve got in my bag are contracts — one for trying to buy Colton’s land, and another for one of his neighbors down the road. There’s also some basic topographical maps of Sugar County that highlights some of the coal deposits running through it, but thats all. Oh, and my company laptop. I’ve considered that maybe there’s something hidden on there, but, it just seems too James Bond.
Headlights shine through the windows from the drive, and I instantly hear Colton bolt into action. The spoon drops against the side of the chili pot, and he’s got the shotgun cocked as he darts for the front door.
“I need you to stay down, darlin’,” he growls, nodding as I slip to the floor in front of the couch, my heart racing. The sound of a truck engine rumbles off, and the headlights go out. Then, it’s silent.
Colton’s jaw tightens, and his finger slips over the trigger of the gun as he peers out the side window into the dark driveway. Suddenly, the door to the kitchen opens with a creek. I gasp, and Colton roars as he turns, levels the shotgun—
…And then yanks it up as the figure steps through the door.
“Are you out of your Goddamn mind!”
Colton’s shoulders slump, fury blazing in his eyes as he jabs a finger at the man who’s just stepped through the door. The guy is easily as tall and built as Colton, but with dark hair to Colton’s blond, and with eyes that glint almost like they’re poured from silver. He smiles this sharp, roguish grin at Colton.
“Just keeping you on your toes, brother.”
Brother. I exhale, slowly getting off the floor. So this is Colton’s brother, Shepherd. He’d told me he coming by — well, no, he warned me he was coming by. Apparently, the two brothers fall on opposite sides of things. Where Colton just wants to be left at peace with his ranch and say above the level, Shepherd’s a little bit of the opposite. A thief, a gun-runner, gambler, and all-around outlaw, apparently.
“I could have blown you in half,” Colton growls, setting the shotgun down on the kitchen table.
“Naw, you ain’t that quick.”
Shepherd grins that shark-like smile again. He’s in dark denim jeans, black boots, and a dark shirt, which he lifts to show a double-holster slung around his hips. His eyes dart past his brother, locking on me and making me shiver just a little bit as those dark, deep eyes fix on me.
“Well now,” he purrs, the corners of his lips curling along that perfect jaw. He pushes past his brother and steps towards me. “Now, I don’t think we’ve been introduced, sugar,” he growls. “I’m—”
Colton’s hand shoots out, closing hard on Shepherd’s arm and yanking him back.
“Watching your fucking manners is what you’re doing,” he hisses, his eyes narrowing and his lips curling back from his teeth. “Watch it, Shep.”
Shepherd grins. “I’m just keeping you on your toes, man.” He turns to me. “Sorry, darlin’, just making sure this asshole was for real about the way he just gushed about you on the phone before I committed to this little adventure.”
Colton scowls. “I didn’t gush.”
“He gushed.”
I grin, blushing as Colton’s eyes meet mine. He winks at me as he lets go of his brother’s arms. “Just watch your damn manners in my house,” he mutters.
“You gonna offer me a drink?”
Colton’s scowls. “You understand that we might be facing a truck full of Banner boys with guns tonight, right?”
“And you want me to do that sober because…why, exactly?”
I chuckle as Colton shakes his head. “You know where to find it. Hey,” he frowns. “Where’s Silas?”
“Hiding in the trees like the fuckin’ weirdo he is.” Shepherd rolls his sleeves up, showing a swath of swirling tattoo ink across his rippling forearms.
Silas King is Colton and Shepherd’s cousin, as Colton told me earlier. Apparently, he was a sniper with the Rangers for a number of tours in the middle east. Now, he’s kind of off the grid, living in a shack up in the hollers somewhere, where he mostly just distills moonshine and keeps to himself.
Colton frowns. “Does he want some foo
d or something?”
Shepherd, waves him off, grabbing a bottle of whiskey out of cupboard and pouring himself a glass. “Nah, he’s in one of his moods. You know how he gets all fuckin’ crazy sometimes. But he’s out there, setting up shop up in some tree or something with his sniper rifle.”
Colton nods. “Thanks, by the way.”
“For?”
“For coming by.”
Shepherd grins. “You really thanking me for coming by for a chance to shoot some Banners?” He snorts, taking a big pull of his whiskey. “Shit, I should be paying you for the opportunity.” He glances at me. “And you’re messed up with this because of that Synergy front they had you working for?”
I sigh. “I’m the only one that doesn’t know that’s a front, aren’t I?”
Shepherd grins. “You get a pass since you’re not from these parts. Those of us from here though can smell Lawson Banner’s bullshit a mile away.”
“Any luck with the notes or anything?”
I shake my head, stepping into Colton as he puts his arm around me.
“Nothing yet.”
“Hey,” he purrs, tilting my face up with a finger on my chin, his blue-grey eyes captivating mine. “This is gonna be okay, alright? I’m not letting anything happen to you.”
He kisses me slowly and softly, and I melt into him as my pulse thunders through me.
“You know I hate to break up this touching little fucking moment,” Shepherd clears his throat. “But we’ve got company.”
He nods at headlights from a few different cars coming up the driveway. Colton growls, grabbing up his shotgun, and Shepherd even loses the smile as he pulls out both of his guns.
“I need you to stay inside,” Colton rumbles into my ear.
“What? No! No way. I’m not letting you go out there without—”
“Tara,” he says quietly. My name on his lips has a sort of calming effect, as does his hand sliding around my hips.
